Quarter Life Crisis
by aSouthronLady
Summary: Arya has graduated from Uni and is having trouble coming to terms with the way her life is going, but eventually she meets someone who sees eye to eye and lets her know she's not alone and as hopeless as she thinks.
1. Chapter 1

She kept looking back over the years, and the more time that passed, the more time she spent reminiscing. She felt useless, stuck, and pointless. Everyone around her was off becoming someone better, making a life for themselves. Her sister Sansa was always the perfect one, her engagement was just the icing on the cake. Her brother Robb was about to have his first child and Jon had just gotten promoted in the army. Bran graduated at the top of his class with all the best colleges practically throwing money at him, and Rickon had his whole life ahead of him to make the right choices.

Arya however, felt she had wasted all of her chances. In high school she was a 4.0 student and the best athlete the school had to offer. Her family was so proud, and admittedly, she was as well. She brimmed with excitement as her name was announced and when she shook the headmaster's hand, she couldn't help but smile at how amazing the next chapter of her life would be.

She then went off to a renowned University and had her first taste of freedom. She didn't go wild as many of the other students, but she loved the fact she made her own choices and did things on her time. She had a boyfriend, Ned, and she was wild for him at first, but now she realized she had no more warm feelings when he hugged her, and she pulled back at his kisses. He was nothing but chivalrous and everyone loved him, including her family. She loved his as well, and loved him, but not the crazy passionate love she thought people should feel. He had a great future ahead of him, and Arya began to realize she had nothing ahead of her, and to that thought, she clinged. She would come to love Ned again, and maybe be happy again, she would.

She began to feel caged, like a bird with clipped wings. The more she pulled away, the more overprotective he became. She only hid further and started to lash out, saying harsh things, but true things. He wanted to know how she felt, and so she told him. Granted it could've been in a nicer way, but she no longer felt nice. When she saw him cry, she sat there stoically. Her lack of feeling gave way to a new feeling – hatred, for herself. She couldn't believe the person she had become, making someone so close to her fall apart, someone that cared for her so much. She hated herself more for not crying with Ned, for not consoling him or telling him things would work out.

Now she was about to graduate once again, but this time she had nothing to show for it. No honors, no awards, no offices held. Her friends all had wonderful internships and jobs lined up in fields like mechanical engineering, while others were preparing for med school. When she crossed the stage and got her diploma for majoring in history, she felt nothing, she was no one.

After a month of living back home with her parents, she broke things off with Ned, wishing she would have been a stronger person to do it earlier. She once again felt a hatred for herself for being so weak and for dragging things out, but more for the indifference she felt when ending the call. He had handled it well enough, seeing how they both knew it would eventually happen, but at the end of the call she felt free, no longer like a broken stallion. That made her feel worse in a sense. She was never one for emotion, but she couldn't help the sadness that filled her now, coming to terms with what a terrible person she felt she had become.

As the summer wore one, the questions from her parents became more frequent. "What are your plans for the future? When do you think you'll find your own place? You aren't going to work at that Café much longer are you?" She couldn't take it anymore, but she didn't have enough money yet to go anywhere else. Her monthly payment on her loans was torture enough. She insisted on at least taking out a loan for a year, not wanting to be completely dependent on her parents, but things weren't working out as she had hoped when she unpacked her last box in her old room.

Nymeria was her only saving grace she felt she had. Her malamute never judged her, never questioned her, and never showed her anything but love and compassion. She was the only reason Arya felt human. The only reason Arya still knew was love and happiness were like. She knew anger, she knew sadness, and she knew nothing all too well. Nymeria was there the nights she couldn't hold herself together, or the days she didn't have work and sat in her room idly looking out the window at nothing and everything, or laying in bed all day looking at pictures of her friends in foreign countries, or off at some amazing job. Nymeria would nudge her, knowing they both needed and escape, and thus Arya began to run again.

She would run a little at first, no longer in the top shape she was back in her start athlete days, but she could run. More so she was stubborn and determined to keep her legs moving underneath her. She was tired of letting herself down and pissed off at not keeping in shape while at Uni. Those thoughts were her fuel. That and her faithful companion trotting beside her.

The coffee shop in Wintertown was her haven. It was above an ancient bookstore in the older part of downtown. The shop was cozy and unique, having been converted from an old apartment. All the furniture was an exotic collection of the owners and local artists hung their work. Off to the back there was a sunroom with seating and then the back wall had a small platform for open mic nights. Arya usually avoided those at first, but it turned out Thursdays weren't too bad talent wise. The shop regulars always kept her informed of their problems, and she would nod along when necessary. Some of them she genuinely liked, but not enough to make an effort to be friends. Certain days were bad, especially when some high maintenance snob would come in with a complex order and only 30 seconds to spare. Arya never got those orders right, hoping they'd never come back. Her lunch breaks were spent in the sunroom with a book from downstairs, living vicariously through the characters. It was much easier to feel when the words were written out in front of you. As she got the hang of being a barista, she crossed her fingers for more hours, anything to get her out of the house and away from the questions.

She would never tell her parents that she was unhappy, and as far as she was concerned, they wouldn't notice. Her mother was always closer to Sansa, and Arya knew she would never have that bond they shared. Her father was her idol though, and she thought he was onto her at times, but it seemed that he, along with everyone else, just pushed her behavior off as typical Arya, and let her be. She was ok with being no one most days, not wanting to bother anyone with her petty problems, but sometimes, she wished someone would ask just one specific question. That someone would care enough to pry a little deeper and try to understand what she was dealing with.

She woke up a little earlier than normal today. It was thundering, but no rain yet. Nymeria rolled over at the foot of her bed showing Arya her belly, which she gladly scratched. After that she threw on a sports bra and some shorts and minutes later the pair was out the door. Arya decided she'd take a drive to some older trails at the Wolfswood for a change of scenery, and they hopped into her old jeep. The thing was pushing 200,000 miles and even Arya expected it to break down any day, but she took as good care of it as she was able. She preferred to do all the work on the car herself, inspired by her brothers when they still lived at the house. Jon had an old 1968 corvette he would give his own life for. Robb on the other hand just bought junkers and flipped them. Not very profitable but it was more of just a hobby. Now her drove around in a little old Geo that Arya thought was oddly fitting. By the time she had her license there were only a couple years left to work on her Wrangler, so she spent whatever time she could sitting on bench learning or on her back under a car with Jon showing her the ropes. Now the garage was fairly empty aside from the red craftsman toolbox Arya had gotten for her 18th birthday. It had various Jeep stickers and others like _Snap-On_ and her favorite sports teams. She had all the necessary small equipment inside, getting things like wrenches and ratchets in her stockings each Christmas and picking old yard sales and taking advantage of sales throughout the year. Nonetheless Arya took diligent care of her baby.

A little while later Arya pulled off onto a gravel road on the North side of the Wolfswood along the lake. She loved it here. It never got too warm and there was an amazing view of the mountains rising in the distance. Nymeria never needed a leash since she was younger, like Rickon's Shaggy Dog, but on occasion Nymeria did like to wander when they went to new places, so Arya wasn't too concerned when she hopped out of the car and sauntered off. She began her run at a slow place on the main trail, and after about 5mins of jogging, yelled for Nymeria to come. Normally she would right away but this time she was nowhere to be seen. Arya plodded along, breathing in the clean air listening to the rumble of thunder and watching the skies darken. It began to drizzle a little bit, but the feel of the mist on her skin was welcome. Any feeling was welcome nowadays, including the burning in her lungs and the weight of her legs. The leaves grew heavy with the drizzle and the whole place looked enchanted. The huge old trees were covered in green moss and the drizzle created a foggy mist. It was silent aside from the thud of her feet on the leaf strewn trail. She looked at everything and anything as she ran. In front of her was a huge spider web exposed to sight from the mist clinging to it, and she ducked underneath, not wanting to ruin the beauty of it. Before she knew it she had reached the lake and saw her dog rolling in the mud on her back as some stranger scratched her belly. _Traitor._

She slowed up and walked towards them, and then she stopped in her tracks. The man scratching Nymeria looked up and he was downright gorgeous. His black shaggy hair was wet and hung in his eyes, but it didn't matter, they were such a brilliant blue that they seemed to cut right through her. She was too busy staring at him to notice Nymeria trot back to her with her head hung low.

"I take it she's yours? She's a very beautiful dog, friendly too. I was running round the other side and heard something behind me and next thing I know I'm on my back with this beast on me. I'd be careful though you should really keep her on a leash next time." He chuckled, and what a beautiful sound it was. Tainted by him reprimanding her, but nonetheless a nice sound.

It wasn't as beautiful as that smile that went with it though. His white teeth beamed against his tan skin, and Arya almost forgot the annoyance she felt when looking at the crinkles forming around those eyes. Almost.

"I don't need your advice stupid, Nymeria never wears a leash, she's a good dog." She snapped a little harsher than she had intended, but who was he to her anyways? He raised his hands in defense.

"Look ma'am, I didn't mean to offend you, it's just this is a national park and they have leash laws, I'd hate for some rangers to take her from you. That's all, honest. That's a nice name for her though."

She lowered her hackles a bit at that. At least he was just warning her for Nymeria's benefit.

"Well, don't call me ma'am." He chuckled again.

"What would you suggest I call you then? My name is Gendry." He stuck out a hand with a lopsided grin. She hesitated, but then reached out hers to meet him.

"Arya."


	2. Chapter 2

Arya sat behind the counter at the café on a bar stool, fingers drumming across the counter. The counter itself was covered in pennies covered in lacquer. It was little quirks like the counter that made her love this place. Sending most of her time behind it made her appreciate something to look at, at least. So far the oldest penny she had found was 1971. That was how she spent slow times when nothing needed to be cleaned or no one came in. it was fairly repetitive but she didn't care, it was something mindless. It kept her mind off her rather empty tip jar. She couldn't even remember how many times her manager had told her to cheer up or at least attempt to act like she cared about customers, but Arya couldn't bring herself to do it. Thankfully she was quick to learn and good with mixing the drinks and keeping track or orders, her skills had gotten her more hours, hours she desperately wanted. They started working her doubles, much to her surprise. She had said she had a completely open on the schedule, and they were taking advantage of it. She scanned the counter at the dates on the pennies, but today she couldn't keep focus. Her mind kept drifting back towards the blue eyes of the man petting Nymeria the other weekend.

She'd be lying if she said she hadn't tried to see him again. She woke up early and ran there the same time as that day three days in a row, but she never saw him again. She gave up trying to run into him after she started working more. It wasn't that she was obsessed with him for crying out loud, it was just… he was the first new person she had talked to in ages that wasn't ordering a large mocha frap with extra espresso or whatever the hell people wanted these days. He didn't know anything about her, and she liked that. She went back to looking at the pennies and using her finger as a guide, but less than a minute later her mind wandered to that day again.

The two of them had exchanged names, and Nymeria ran back over to Gendry and his scratches.

"I think she likes me." He kneeled down to Nymeria's level to get a lick to the face and smiled up at Arya, blue eyes dancing.

"She's normally not friendly, I mean she'd never bite someone unless they tried to hurt me, but she's usually pretty guarded." _Much like me. _

"Well I never would've guessed." The mist then turned to a heavy rain and Gendry stood up. Arya tried not to look at the water running down his obnoxiously toned torso, she really did. He didn't notice though he had his face turned up towards the downpour.

"Welp, knew it was gonna happen sooner or later. Gotta say I don't feel as bad about her rolling around in the mud now though. Hope she doesn't mess up your car. Ive got a towel if you need it." He looked over again and caught her grey eyes through his no soaked hair. He really needed to stop that.

"I drive a Jeep. Not a car." She was always a little defensive of her jeep. "And it'll be fine, it's made to be muddy." She called Nymeria to her and Gendry had a toothy grin on his face.

"A girl that really knows how to use a Jeep? Now that's admirable, kudos to you."

"Thanks… well I'm gonna go before the lightening gets too bad…" She just trailed off, wanting to run away from whoever the hell this man was, but not really wanting that at all. She was used to feeling nothing nowadays, but not two things like this. But she did was she was more comfortable with. She ran. Literally, much to Gendry's amusement. She started jogging back towards the trail, and turned when she heard Gendry shout. He was waving and still smiling at her, shaking his head.

"It was nice meeting you and Nymeria!" Next thing she knew she was waving back and her mouth was moving.

"You too!"

It wasn't much, but it was more than she intended to say. And looking back, _it was nice, I guess._

Arya snapped out of her memory when someone was tapping the counter near the register. She hadn't even heard the bell ring at the door to signal a customer. She ran back over to the prim older lady.

"_Finally_, I've been waiting for ages, I have places to be you know." Arya just rolled her eyes. _Bitch that's why we have Starbucks. _Needless to say the little café didn't get customers like this on a regular basis.

"What'll ya have?"

"A large half-skinny half-1 percent extra hot split quad shot latte with whip." The lady sat there looking like she just asked Arya for a black coffee for gods sake, not the order from hell.

"Um... ma'am could you repeat that. I didn't quite get all of it." She instantly regretted that when the snarky bitch smacked the counter.

"Excuse me? I speak English my dear, it's not hard to understand. Kids these days, you think the likes of you would at least learn to pay attention in those damned universities mommy and daddy send you off to with their money, back in my day I had to _work _through school, not have some cushy job at a half rate café." Arya took advantage of the lady catching her breath.

"Ma'am I thought you had somewhere to be. If you want to sit her and lecture me instead of repeating your order, feel free to leave, I could care less." She knew her manager would have her ass for that but she wasn't going to deal with this, not today.

"Forget my order if you already hadn't. And I'll be calling this stores manager. See if you'll ever get the chance to take another order." With that, she huffed one last time and gave Arya a pretty good evil eye, which she returned with one of her own and a raised eyebrow. The lady slammed the door on the way out, and the one customer in the back corner reading a book just looked up at Arya and gave her a smile and shrugged. She shrugged back and turned around when someone tapped on her shoulder.

_Well mommy dearest, you can say your daughter is no longer working at a coffee shop now…_

Arya turned around and looked at her manager expecting to see fire in her eyes.

"Ros, I'm sorry but.. well she was just – "

"A bitch? Yea I heard, don't sweat it, we don't want the likes of her in here anyways. Just try not to be as snappy next time and give people like her a second chance? Money's money." She winked and walked back to her tiny office behind the kitchen.

Arya liked the free spirited red head that ran the shop. She inherited it from her mother and Ros certainly had a head for business, but one would never tell looking at how she dressed. If it weren't for her though, the café wouldn't be what it is. Arya went back to drumming her fingers over the penny counter top and looking about at the paintings on the wall.

That was one thing she used to do all the time. Paint. People told her she was wonderful, and she would paint for people. Gifts, trades, anything. She just loved painting when she was younger, and in high school many of her paintings were featured in art shows. However in college she didn't paint much in her dorm, and as the years wore on, she lost the passion. She just didn't have the motivation in her, and the loss of it just made it harder for her to ever think she was good in the first place. People who were good at things just didn't stop doing them, did they? The last thing she had painted was for Ned. It was a desert scene with dunes against an endless blue sky. He loved it, and so did she, but after that… nothing came. There were days she just looked at her brushes, willing herself to pick them up, but she just couldn't. Nothing creative had come to her in ages. She just chucked that thought into the pile of all her other growing worries and began to fiddle with her IPod.

It was a plus of working at the little cafe, as long as nothing too vulgar was played, Ros let Arya control the music on her shifts. It seemed fitting since a lot of what Arya listened to now was indie or similar sounds. The quiet acoustic songs and other folksie beats went well with the hum of the shop.

She had just finished one playlist when Ros came back out.

"He kid, don't sweat today, you're off early. Here's your paycheck. Schedule for next two weeks will be emailed to you tomorrow night. See ya around." She handed Arya an envelope and began to cash out the register.

"Thanks… and sorry though, I know I was a little out of line there."

"Like I said, don't sweat it."

"And thanks for the extra hours, I'll see you around." Ros looked up from the wad of ones in her hand and the corners of her mouth lifted as a red curl fell in front of her eyes.

"Later kid."

"Later." Arya left the shop and walked down the wrought iron stair case leading down to the street. She glanced in the bookstore, hoping to browse the new deliveries they got on Tuesdays, but as her luck would have it, Luwin, the elderly man who ran it, had closed fifteen minutes prior. She knew if she knocked loud enough he would let her in. He was close to the Starks, having been a teacher when Jon and Robb were in grade school, and with Arya always poking about on breaks or before shifts, but she didn't want to bother him. The new adventures and lives held between the freshly printed pages would have to wait.

She pulled up to her house a few minutes later and put her Jeep in park. She pulled the envelope out of her ratty old bag. Her brother had said it was a stoner bag, and Sansa called it a hippie bag, but Arya didn't care, it was her bag. She bought it on her first road trip with the Jeep when she went down South to the beaches one summer in Dorne. It was rough spun with faded stripes, and sewn together with so many different patches, but she could never bare to part with it, it had too many memories and too much character.

She ripped open the envelope and stared. She wasn't surprised at the low amount printed, but looking at her empty gas tank, she knew she should probably start looking for another job if she didn't continue with the increase in hours, because getting more tips certainly wasn't plausible.

She sighed and shoved it back in the bag and walked into the house quietly as she could, wanting to avoid the usual interrogation. Thankfully she made it up the stairs and trudged towards her room. It was no longer painted the many colors and filled with posters and pictures and lined with trophy-adorned shelves like in high school. The walls were a dark grey, she could live with that, but it still didn't feel right coming back here every day. It was odd getting used to living with her parents again. They were always strict, it didn't matter what child you were, but going from the freedom of her own place at Uni to the seemingly shrinking walls of her house. She flopped down on the bed and opened her laptop. She stared at the start screen, not really having a purpose for opening it. The background was a picture of all the Starks dogs – Grey Wind, Ghost, Lady, Nymeria, Summer, and Shaggy Dog all when they were puppies and they first rescued them. Arya was never the whole cutesy-baby animal-crazy girl, but she would allow it just for this picture. The baby malamutes were all a bunch of fluff falling over each other. She absently started searching for job openings, but before she knew it, she was drifting off to sleep with the image of a pair of hauntingly blue eyes guiding her into her dreams.


	3. Chapter 3

Arya trudged down the stairs the next morning, hair a mess and neck hurting from the weird position she fell asleep in, with her laptop resting on her stomach. She must've been more tired than she had thought, for she didn't move and inch while she slept. She stumbled down the last few stairs, shaking her foot that felt full of pins and needles. She had woken up to Nymeria laying across one of her legs effectively cutting of blood flow.

She made her way to the kitchen, getting out a bowl and some Cocoa Puffs for breakfast.

"Arya, you know those are for Rickon, and are those the clothes from yesterday? You really need to start taking care of yourself."

_Ahh mother._

"Good morning to you too. And I'll have you know this is my favorite cereal too, I'll eat it till I don't have any more teeth." She huffed out the response and her mother just 'hmphed' and went about her business, checking the mail.

"You got another letter from the bank, are you late on your monthly payment? You really shouldn't fall behind on things like that. Do you have enough money this month? I know you can't be making enough at the place." She handed Arya the envelope without even looking at her.

"No, I'm not late, they just don't like you to forget you owe them money, like I could ever forget that." She didn't even bother opening the notice yet.

"Would you like to come to Rickon's soccer game today? I believe Bran and your father are going as well, he would love to see you there again, it's been so long since you came." Her mother looked at her, pleading. She really wasn't as harsh as people made her out to be, she just had high standards, partially thanks to Sansa, but that was a different matter.

She really didn't want to. Part of her did, she used to love going to any sporting event, especially her brothers, but now all she wanted to do was hide from her family and make enough money to stay out of debt. She felt as if everything was just wizzing by, and she knew it wouldn't matter in the long run if she wasn't included. Things would go on and they would forget. If anything they would probably have a better time without her sulking about.

"Mom I don't know. I have work and – "

"Arya we both know you can make it, you don't have anything going on besides that dead end job, now please, come support your brother, he misses you. We all do."

Arya snapped up and looked at her mother. She could see the tears forming in her blue eyes.

She couldn't bear it. She slowly stood up and left the empty bowl on the counter and walked out. Head down, hands in her pocket. She knew her family was hurting, but she couldn't do a thing about it anymore. She felt useless but she couldn't bring herself to change, she didn't know how. She knew her mother didn't deserve this, that all she wanted was her family to be whole again, but the comment about not having plans and the job cut a little deep. She went back to her shower and turned the water on, scalding. Why could she feel the burn of the water and not feel the guilt from earlier?

Catelyn stood there for a moment, looking at the empty bar stool. Slowly she moved over and collected the bowl, bringing it to the sink. She felt the tears run down her cheeks and began scrubbing furiously at the nothing in the bowl.

She jumped when she felt to large hands on her waist.

"I think it's clean Cat." Ned chuckled, but when she turned he caught his breath.

"Whats wrong, what happened?"

Catelyn just leaned into his chest and let his arms hold her close.

"Arya.. it's worse Ned, worse than we thought. This isn't her normal behavior, something's wrong."

"You know as well as I do that we need to wait for her to come to us. How many times have we reached out to her when she was younger and she pulled back? We need to be patient, I've noticed it too the past few weeks. We just need to make sure she knows were still here for her, she needs us Cat, even if she doesn't want us back yet." Her hugged her tighter and she nodded her head, relaxing at her husband's words. He wouldn't let their family fall apart.

"I shouldn't be so judgmental. It's my fault she's getting worse."

"Nothing is your fault, but it probably wouldn't hurt to stop comparing her to Sansa. Arya just needs time to figure out what she wants and where she's going. All we can do it wait and love her Cat."

She pulled his waist tighter and he cupped the back of her head, stroking her long auburn locks.

Arya stayed in the shower until the water ran cold. She stepped out and looked at the clock. 3 hours until her shift started. She walked to her bed and did what she did best lately, she slept.

It was an hour till her shift when she woke up. She rolled over on her bed, not wanting to leave. It was always harder when her dreams were better than her life. She had dreamed she was a wolf, running free through the Wolfswood.

She had no commitments, no loans, no expectations. All she had was herself and her freedom. She felt the earth under her and breeze run through her. The forest was full of smells. One caught her attention in particular. She ran towards the smell, past the birds and rabbits and squirrels she felt she would normally chase. She saw the source of the smell, a tall human, jogging along the trail. She picked up her pace. He began to turn and she lunged. The smell was overwhelming and making her blood run hot. He looked scared as he stared into her yellow eyes. His were the color of the lake behind them, and full of fear. She didn't want them to be that way, she didn't want him to be afraid. She licked him and he began to laugh. She liked this laugh and he began to scratch her. The sensation was overwhelming and she began to squirm beneath his strong hands. Before she could roll over though, she woke up.

It was the third time she had this dream in two weeks, and it was her favorite. She loved the feeling of freedom and the wild around her, but the ending would leave her feeling happy. She hated waking up. When she would open her eyes and look at the walls around her the feeling would quickly dissipate.

She stretched out in her bed a little longer and finally rolled out, pulling on a pair over worn shorts and a long sleeve ARMY shirt Jon had sent her. If she believe hard enough, it still smelled like him, and she would almost smile.

She had just enough time to run into Luwin's store and investigate the new shipment.

She swung the old stained glass door opened and was greeted with the musty smell of old books and new books. She loved it. It was peaceful. The front bay window had a little table with two plush chairs and a lamp, and the then by the door was a cluttered counter and ancient register. She knew Luwin was in the back though. The rest of the shop had floor to ceiling bookshelves and narrow aisles. She walked down the aisle to the far right, running her fingers along the spines of the books. This aisle was fiction, and she could say she'd made her way through at least half of them. She reached the back and knocked on the door that said 'Employees Only." She heard the knob turn and was greeted by a smiling man with grey hair.

"Arya dear, good to see you! I was surprised you didn't come in yesterday." He smiled warmly at her.

"Me too actually, I've started taking on longer shifts now though."

"Ah well that's good to hear, I know how you like to work. Still have time to read I hope?"

"Always."

"The way you read, I'd think the words are like water to you."

"Couldn't tell you what I'd do with myself if I didn't' have em."

He gave her a half smile at that. She knew he liked her, but could tell that part of that was pity. She was in her early 20's. She shouldn't always have her nose in a book, she should be out with friends.

_Who needs this life the way it's going when I can live hundreds of better lives in my books._

"So anything good come in? I'm in need of a new read." She surveyed the small box. It didn't look promising.

"Well, shipments are smaller, not as many people are buying books what with Kindles and things these days. Mostly just got some new cooking and travel books. But next week I could probably help you out, I plan on ordering some more fiction works."

She looked up disappointedly but mustered a smile for Luwin anyways.

"That's ok, I should probably branch out anyways right?" She didn't want to though, but she knew he'd like to hear that.

"That's the spirit my girl. Live life while you can. If I could have my youth back, I'd do as much as possible with it." He began to shuffle back to putting price tags on the books.

"Very true, but I've got to earn some money before I do those things. I'll see you again soon."

"Take care, and have some fun, for an old man like me at least?"

She just forced a smile and didn't answer.

She walked up the stairs outside to the small deck at the entrance of the cafe. It was only big enough to fit one small table and a chair and about 3 large pots of plants Ros always had, and was lined with windows, aside from the rusty old blue mail box next to the door. Arya leaned on the railing and looked out. Today was especially shitty, and to make things worse, the delivery truck rolled up. She hated this day, every two weeks when the store would restock. Boxes upon boxes needed to be hauled up the stairs. That was one of the few things she didn't like about the shop. Stairs.

The delivery guy waved a clipboard at her, and she stuck out a finger telling him to wait. Arya went into the shop to get Ros, but there was a note on the door in neat loopy script – "Sorry, doctors apt. If I'm not back by the time the delivery arrives I trust you to sign for me – Ros"

Of course, she would have to haul the boxes by herself today.

She ran back downstairs and signed for the driver and her peeled off. 12 boxes. Granted half of them were things like lids, cups, receipt papers and other items, but a good deal were also coffee beans. Heavy heavy coffee beans. She looked around, thankful it wasn't busy out. It was a nice part of town, but she still didn't feel comfortable leaving the boxes on the curb. She started with the light stuff and got most of that done, breaking into a light sweat. She had 5 boxes left and just hauled up the first box of beans. That shit was heavy. She struggled to get a grip on the second box and find her footing to the stairs, certain she's trip, when all the sudden the box was lifted.

"HEY! Who the hell do you think you are just – "

"Whoa, whoa, calm down I didn't mean to startle you, it just looked like you needed a hand." She knew that voice.

She moved over to see those stunning blue eyes gazing back. When he met her grey ones she saw him break into a grin.

"Fancy meeting you here."

"Yea.. look I didn't mean to yell but I don't need any help, I'm not a little girl I can handle a few boxes." Something about this man unsettled her. Not in a bad way, just an unfamiliar way. He made her jumpy, or so she told herself.

As much as she didn't want to carry them all, she didn't want to admit she needed help more.

"I seem to have a habit of unknowingly insulting you." He chuckled. Damn this man. "But I really just thought you looked could use an extra hand, I'm sorry ."

"It's fine." She grunted, and took the box back and dropped a little under the weight, but slowly started up the stairs. She heard footsteps behind her as she reached the landing.

"Hey I thought I said I got this! You don't have to help me." Why was she so snappy? He didn't deserve this. He was just some innocent guy raised with some manners.

"Oh, you? No, I'm not helping you. I'm just gonna help this coffee shop. I don't want their goods sitting unattended on the street for long, so I figured I'd bring them up. I'm doing my part supporting local business." That goofy grin of his and that sparkle in her eye pissed her off, but she felt herself smile a little regardless.

"You're a stubborn one aren't you? Fine, just don't think you're some knight in shining armor or whatever, I had this." She inched by him and walked back towards the stairs.

"Why, I would never m'lady."

"Don't call me m'lady!" she turned and pushed him, leading him to trip over a box behind him and fall backwards. To her dismay he laughed some more.

"Well that wasn't very lady like." The damned smile.

"Ugh!" she huffed down the stairs getting the other box, and he followed her up again in silence, still grinning.

Before she could turn around, he was back down the stairs going for the last box.

_Suit yourself._ And she headed back towards the counter.

He walked in with Ros following him. She had a stupid grin on her face and was winking, simultaneously pointing at Gendry behind his back and giving her a thumbs up. Arya just rolled her eyes.

"And who is this strapping young lad you have doing the dirty work?"

"I told him it was fine and I didn't need help. He's as stubborn as a bull. You have nice timing though, coming in behind the last box."

"It's a gift." She breezed past Arya in a flowy dress towards the office.

"Make him whatever he wants on the house!"

She looked over at Gendry, he was still smiling.

"Well… what'll it be? You heard her."

"I think I'll have an iced coffee, no cream, and a thank you." _That bastard._

"Excuse me? I didn't ask for help." She found herself making his drink nonetheless.

"I'm just kidding, relax. I was early for work and I'd be pissed the rest of the day if I just sat there letting you do all that work by yourself."

Despite people telling her to relax being her pet peeve, she found when he said, she actually did relax.

"Anyways my shift starts in fifteen minutes so I'm gonna get going. It was nice running into you again, and thanks for the drink! I'll see you around sometime." He put a five in her tip jar – which was simply unheard of – and made for the door.

"Wait!" He turned around quicker than she'd expected, finding her words lost when she met his gaze. "…Where do you work?" She felt her face start to turn pink. That wasn't at all what she had intended to say. To be honest, she had no clue what she was going to stay, she just didn't want him to leave, not yet.

"Mott's Gym a few blocks away." _That explains some things. _"I'll see you Arya." She felt the blush deepen at the smile he gave her, and at the fact that was the first time he'd spoken her name. She like the way he said it.

She looked back at her tip jar and shook her head.

"So, who was that handsome devil?" Ros had a perfectly manicured eyebrow arched, waiting for Arya's answer.

"Just… just a friend."


	4. Chapter 4

The rain was coming down in sheets outside, and Arya's room was dark. Days like this begged to be spent in bed with a good book, but whoever was knocking on her door had different plans.

_Wait for it…_

"Arya! I know you're awake now, come on open up!"

Rickon was banging on her door. She rolled over and looked at the clock. 8:21am. On a Saturday.

_Not happening._

"No I'm not go away."

"Arya please – I need a ride to practice!"

She rolled out of bed and Nymeria lifted her head and lazily looked at Arya, only to put her hed back on her paws.

"…Just rub it in."

"Rickon it's raining buckets you can't be serious!"

"Pleeeeeeeease Arya! It's in the rec center."

She sat there rubbing her eyes. To help a brother out, or to go back to sleep? She looked back at Nymeria, who rolled over so she was taking up most of the bed.

"Well fuck you too."

"ARYAAA!" Rickon banged on the door one more time, begging.

"Fine! Give me like ten minutes!" She yawned and heard a flurry of footsteps rush down the hall.

Thirty minutes later she was walking through the door back into the house, hair soaked just from walking to and from her jeep. She wasn't a happy camper.

"Arya dear thank you for taking Rickon to practice. Me and your father had some business to take care of, but we'll pick him up. Breakfast?" Her mother stood behind the island in the kitchen with a frying pan in her hand heating up some sausages.

Arya just grunted and walked back to her room. Nymeria had rolled over some, giving Arya enough room to plop down. It was raining so hard her dog didn't even want to get up, and that was rare.

She stripped off her shirt and crawled back under the covers closing her eyes.

She awoke to her alarm, Oblivion by Bastille. It was something nice to wake up to. She remembered how she had switched Jon's alarm to the Death Metal Rooster and how he almost had a heart attack the first time it went off, but left it. He liked getting jolted awake, said the adrenaline kept him up, but Arya preferred to wake up in her own terms, laying in bed and stretching, wiggling her toes. She usually waited the length of the song, then sucked it up and got out of bed. She looked at her phone and had 3 messages all from Ros.

_Hey are you awake? 9:30am_

_Anyways can you come in early today around 1? 10:10am_

_You know what, fuck this, I'm the boss lady, see you at 2 __ 11:00am_

Arya just smiled and threw the phone down. Ros knew she didn't mind extra hours. Sadly though it was going on noon and the rain was still pouring. Nymeria was nowhere to be seen, so she assumed she was let out.

_I need to get my shit together, no more of this noon wake up BS._

She knew that wasn't fair to Nymeria, but there was no way in hell she was getting out of bed to run in this mess today. She hopped in the shower and still had about thirty minutes before work so she decided to put on a little make up. Maybe that would help out with the tips. Ya never know. She shook her hair out and rubbed some product on the dead ends and tied it up in a bun and was off. She just threw an her old hoodie from uni over her tank and was off.

She parked and ran to the covered stairs to the café, and slipped on the last one, banging her shin.

"Fucking shit fuck, damn fucking stairs!" She crawled back up trying to ignore the throbbing in her shin and stumbled through the door. Her hair was falling out of her bun and she knew she looked rough, and normally wouldn't care, but standing across from Ros at the counter with a coffee in his hand was that familiar mop of shaggy black hair and broad shoulders.

_Seriously…. Today of all days?_

She tried to slink back around the side unnoticed but Ros was already watching her with a smirk on her face.

"Well there's my little ray of sunshine! I knew all that noise was you." Ros laughed and Gendry turned. He had this smile on his face like he knew something she didn't. Arya didn't like that, not one bit.

"You have quite the way with words." His smile grew broader. Arya just mimicked him to herself in an annoying voice and hung her hoodie up to dry. Gendry was laughing. Everyone was having such a grand time except her.

_I love you all, twats._

Ros ran over to her and filled her in on some malfunction with the espresso machine, leaving it out of commission until Ros came back with some new part for it. Arya didn't mind though, it was monsoon outside and nobody would come in.

She walked out of the back room and Gendry was sitting at the counter now with an old nokia texting someone. The sight was hilarious and she couldn't help but laugh watching his huge fingers try and type out a message. The fact he had an old phone like that was oddly endearing.

But that didn't matter to her. He was just some random guy getting a coffee.

Who her dog liked.

Who helped her with the deliveries.

_Stop it. Stop it. Stop it._

She didn't realize how ridiculous she must've looked until she looked back at Gendry and he was outright laughing.

"What's so funny?!"

"You." He stopped laughing and just looked at her, grinning. Why was he so attractive.

"Not as funny as that brick of a phone. Plans still cover those things?" She pointed down at the silver nokia.

"Grandfathered in. As long as it texts and calls, it's perfect."

Arya waved her hand around dramatically with her iphone in it, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "But you're missing out on the wonderful world of snapchat, instagram, and twatting."

"Excuse me?" He raised his eyebrows, still grinning.

"You don't want girls sending nudies or pictures of shoes with hipster filter 1 to you?" She rolled her eyes and gagged.

"Not my kind of girl, but that's not what I'm talking about. What was the last thing you said?"

"Tweeting? With the little messages about how wonderful everyones life is as they wait in line at Urban Outfitters?"

"Not what you said." Damn he had some nice teeth. She knew what she said earlier.

"Yes it is." She turned around to make herself a coffee. Gendry just laughed some more. She could get used to that sound.

"So what are you doing here? You got work later?" She sipped on her black iced coffee and leaned on her elbows looking everywhere but the man in front of her.

"Already got off actually. Decided I'd stop by for a pick me up." He raised his cup to her and they cheered.

She didn't mind him as much as she thought she would. She still kept her guard up and she couldn't shake the weird feeling she got around him, but it wasn't bad.

The next hour they created a sort of game asking questions back and forth. He'd flip a coin, and whoever guessed the toss right got to ask a question. Eventually Gendry just called heads and Arya only tails. She learned things like how he'd moved from Kings Landing to here a few months ago, and she told him vague things like how she had a big family, and how she got a history degree and what not. Nothing to0 personal.

"Heads." Gendry flipped the coin.

"Tails." Arya looked at his arm.

"Damnit! That's 3 in a row, let's switch coins." She began looking in the bottom of her tip jar.

"Arya that's fourth time we've switched coins. It's not going to matter anymore." He chuckled and took the new coin anyways.

"How about I ask you one, and then we take turns? Sound good?" She rolled her eyes and agreed.

"Favorite food?"

"Tacos."

"You serious?"

"Not at all."

He just shook his head and looked up towards nothing.

"My turn. Tattoos?"

"Yup."

"Well… can I see them?" She looked at his arms and saw nothing on them, then blushed. Maybe she shouldn't have asked.

"First off, it wasn't your turn. Secondly, it's just one." He stood up and turned away from her. He lifted his shirt off his back by the hem.

She swallowed. She couldn't help but watch the way his muscular back rippled with each movement. She looked and across the top of his shoulder blades was the tattoo. It was black swirling lettering, framed by the antlers on the head of a stag underneath. The shading was amazing. It wasn't terribly big, but it wasn't small either. She ran her eyes over it more times than she cared to count.

_Ours is the fury._

She liked it.

"So what's the story behind it?" she took another sip of coffee and sat back down. She didn't realize she had been leaning towards him.

He turned his head over his shoulder and looked at her. His eyes were dark.

"Skipped me again huh? That's a story for another day." He put his shirt back on and she got the feeling that was the end of that particular string of conversation.

The rain had yet to let up, and not a single customer had braved the weather. She didn't mind at all though. She liked the coziness of the shop and the sound of the rain beating down on the roof. Her and Gendry spent their time talking about songs on her Ipod, and she found out he was a big fan of folksie indie stuff like her, but was a die-hard classic rock fan at heart.

She looked at the clock and it was already going on four. Arya had no idea how 3 hours had passed so fast. To her it felt like barely an hour had gone by.

It was an odd moment of realization. She hadn't talked with a man this much since Ned, and even towards the end, it wasn't as relaxed as this.

_Relaxed._

_When was the last time I felt like that?_

She cupped her mug and held it up to her mouth, blowing off the steam of the hot chocolate she had opted for. She peaked over the rim of the mug, only to lock eyes with Gendry.

She quickly sipped, only to end up coughing all over the place. Needless to say it was like drinking lava.

She ran over to the icebox and stuck a cube in her mouth. Gendry was laughing, once again.

"You ok? Burning my tongue is like a pet peeve, hope it wasn't terribly hot." He had a softer expression across his face. She shook her head and pushed the cube to her cheek so she could speak.

"Better to feel pain then nothing, right?"

_Shit._

_Too much, why the fuck would I say that.  
_She didn't want to look at him. She ran over to the ipod to pick a new song, scrolling aimlessly.

_Better to feel nothing over embarrassment Stark. Way to fuck up and freak him out._

Gendry walked over to her on the other side of the counter and leaned on his forearms.

"I agree completely. It's why I started MMA." Arya was not expecting that. She peeked up through her mess of hair and cautiously looked over, not sure if he was serious. His face was so expressive when he wanted it to be. There wasn't pity or disgust like she had expected, but understanding.

"Mixed martial arts?" She finally settled on a song – House of the Rising Sun.

"Good song choice, and yea, it's a great release, but it's also…" He scrunched his face up thinking and Arya couldn't help but notice how adorable it was. But it was a general thing, not like _she_ personally thought it was adorable… "Well I'm not sure how to word it. It's a combination of release and fulfillment, letting go of things and gaining things." He seemed satisfied enough with that and relaxed his face once again into an easy smile.

"You should join me." He swirled the last of his coffee and threw it back, not looking at her.

"I don't know. MMA seems a bit intense to just pick up out of nowhere. All I do is run."

"Ok maybe not MMA, but I do teach a kickboxing class at the gym. You should check it out. You just feel… I don't know.. I guess it's different for everyone, but like I said, that's why I started it, to feel something you know? It's better than picking fights anyways." He looked back down at his empty cup. Arya got the feeling he knew from experience.

"Ok, maybe I'll stop by one day. You're pretty convincing." His head shot up and she had a full view of those deep blues. He was about to say something when she raised her finger.

"Not making any promises here though, understand?" He closed his mouth and nodded, eyes still locked on hers. She had a feeling she was going to go kick boxing soon.

Gendry's phone vibrated and he checked it, then walked out onto the porch, closing the door with a ring of the bell behind him.

Who the hell was this guy? She just spent hours talking about anything and everything with him and she still really didn't know that much about him.

Except he liked MMA, he liked the pain.

More importantly he liked pain over nothing.

That she could understand. She was never one to cut herself, but she thought back to mornings where she would take scalding hot or arctic cold showers. There was something for that.

But that was pain. Gendry made her anxious, confused. She wanted to avoid eye contact with him, but at the same time, she couldn't help her curiosity and wished she had more time to stare into them, unnoticed of course.

The bell rang again and Gendry walked back in. he was running a hand through his hair looking down at his phone.

"So… looks like I've got to go. My mate's got car troubles and needs a ride." He looked at Arya and shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, guess I'll see ya around sometime. Hope you don't get to drenched." Arya went to gather their cups and Gendry followed her.

"Kickboxing classes are Wednesday mornings at 9 around the corner. Just throwing that out there."

_Damn him and his winks. _

She threw the cups away and turned back to face him. He was leaning on the counter again. It was actually pretty funny how much he had to hunch over to get at eye level. She just arched an eyebrow in his direction.

"No promises."

"Of course not." He stood up and shot her one last smile before going out the door.

Arya gave a half ass wave and watched him go without a word.

The empty shop and lack of music normally would've made her loneliness painfully obvious, but at the moment, things weren't too awful. She grabbed a receipt pad and started to doodle to pass the time.

Ros came back to the shop to find the machines cleaned and Arya mopping. She sent Arya on her way a few minutes later and went to the register to count the (lack of) profit from the dreadful day. Next to the tip jar she saw the receipt pad with the little sketch of a stag walking through trees, the antlers twirling and twining into the branches.


End file.
